CROSSLAKE — There was no shortage of steaming, delectable soups at the Saturday, Feb. 4, WinterFest in Crosslake with 26 different varieties in the annual SoupFest competition.
On the corner of Highway 66 and County Road 3 alone there were three recipes from south of the border, including Andy's Bar and Grill's steak quesadilla, chicken tortilla at Frandsen Bank and chicken fajita at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Campground.
There were plenty of options, including the loaded potato soup at Zorbaz, pickle soup at the Northern Minnesota Railroad Heritage Association and squirrelly chowder at Squirrelly Mama, squirrel not included.
There were three different categories to win: judges choice, people's choice culinary and people's choice amateur. Winners were as follows:
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Judge's choice
- First place: Maucieri's Italian Bistro
- Second place: Crosslake Coffee
- Third place: Manhattan's
People's choice culinary
- First place: Andy's Bar and Grill
- Second place: Maucieri's Italian Bistro
- Third place: Crosslake-Fifty Lakes American Legion
People's choice amateur
- First place: Key Wellness
- Second place: Whitefish at the Lakes Senior Living
- Third place: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway
The crowd flocking the city of Crosslake was so thorough that some businesses ran out of the goods only an hour into the competition. SoupFest is a main attraction, but WinterFest offers plenty of other activities as well.
Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.
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